Display device, driving method thereof, terminal device,  and display panel

ABSTRACT

To provide a plural-viewpoint display device having an image separating optical element such as a lenticular lens or a parallax barrier, which is capable of arranging thin film transistors and wirings while achieving substantially trapezoid apertures and high numerical aperture, and to provide a driving method thereof, a terminal device, and a display panel. A neighboring pixel pair arranged with a gate line interposed therebetween is connected to the gate line placed between the pixels, each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pair is connected to the data line different from each other, and each of the neighboring pixel pairs neighboring to each other in an extending direction of the gate lines is connected to the gate line different from each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese patent application No. 2007-268423, filed on Oct. 15, 2007, thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a display device capable of displayingan image to each of a plurality of viewpoints, its driving method, aterminal device, and a display panel. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to a display device capable of providing high qualitydisplay, its driving method, a terminal device, and a display panel.

2. Description of the Related Art

Owing to the recent technical developments, display panels are used invarious places by being loaded not only to large-scale terminal devicessuch as monitors and television receiver sets but also to medium-scaleterminal devices such as notebook-type personal computers, cashdispensers, and vending machines, and to small-scale terminal devicessuch as personal TVs, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistances), portabletelephones, and portable game machines. Particularly, liquid crystaldisplay devices using liquid crystal have many advantages such as beingthin in thickness, light in weight, small in size, and low in terms ofpower consumption, so that those are loaded to various terminal devices.With a current display device, same display contents as those whenviewed from a front direction can be observed from places other than thefront direction. However, a display device with which different imagescan be observed depending on the viewpoints, i.e., depending on thepositions from which observers views the display, has also beendeveloped. Such device is expected to grow as a display device of nextgeneration.

As an example of the device capable of displaying different images toeach of a plurality of viewpoints, there is a stereoscopic image displaydevice. Particularly, a lenticular lens type and parallax barrier typehave been proposed as a stereoscopic image display system that requiresno special eye glasses.

The inventors of the present invention have zealously conducted studieson a plural-viewpoint display device having an optical element such as alenticular lens for separating images so as to develop a method forachieving high quality images (see Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication 2005-208567 (FIG. 37): Patent Document 1, for example). FIG.34 is a plan view showing a display panel of an image display devicedepicted in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 34, an aperture 1075 ofthe display panel is in a shape including a trapezoid on a plan view.Specifically, the aperture 1075 is in a hexagonal shape in which abilateral-symmetric trapezoid and a rectangle whose long side has anequal length with the length of a lower bottom of the trapezoid areplaced in such a manner that a lower bottom of the trapezoid and a longside of the rectangle are in contact with each other.

Assuming that the longitudinal direction of cylindrical lenses 1003 athat configure a lenticular lens is a vertical direction 1011 and anarranging direction thereof is a lateral direction 1012, the shape ofthe aperture 1075 is laterally symmetrical with respect to a segmentextending in the vertical direction 1011. Further, there is a pair ofsides that are tilted in opposite directions with respect to thevertical direction 1011 from each other, having same angles between theextending direction and the vertical direction 1011. As a result, in thelateral direction 1012, the end positions of the apertures 1075 of thedisplay panel and the optical axis positions of the cylindrical lenses103 a become relatively shifted in the vertical direction 1011.

Further, the apertures 1075 neighboring to each other in the verticaldirection 1011 are arranged to be line-symmetrical with respect to asegment extending in the lateral direction 1012. Further, the apertures1075 neighboring to each other in the lateral direction 1012 arearranged to be point-symmetrical with respect to an intersection pointbetween a segment connecting between the middle point of both ends inthe vertical direction 1011 and a segment connecting between the middlepoints of both ends in the lateral direction 102. Thus, the width of theaperture 1075 in the vertical direction 1011 together with theneighboring aperture 1075 in the lateral direction 1012 is substantiallyconstant regardless of the positions in the lateral direction 1012.

A light shielding part 1076 is provided only at an edge of a pixelextending in the lateral direction 1011 but not provided at edges of thepixel sloping towards the vertical direction 1011. The apertures 1075neighboring to each other in the lateral direction 1012 are sectioned bywirings 1070, and shielded from light by the wirings 1070.

In the display device depicted in Patent Document 1, the aperture ofeach pixel is formed in a shape including a trapezoid, and the aperturesof the neighboring pixels are arranged to be in a point-symmetrical orline-symmetrical relation. Thereby, the numerical aperture in thevertical direction 1011 can be made substantially constant at arbitrarypositions in the lateral direction 1012. As a result, deterioration inthe display qualities caused due to the light-shielding areas can beprevented completely.

Further, as another example of the device capable of displayingdifferent images for each of a plurality of viewpoints, there has beendeveloped a plural-image simultaneous displaying device that is capableof displaying a plurality of different images for a plurality ofviewpoints simultaneously (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication06-332354: Patent Document 2, for example) This is a display thatdisplays different images for each observing direction simultaneouslyunder a same condition by utilizing an image allotting function of alenticular lens. This makes it possible with a single display device toprovide different images from each other simultaneously to a pluralityof observers that are located at a different position from each otherwith respect to the display device.

As described, a great number of plural-viewpoint display devices havebeen studied, and the aperture shapes of the pixels suited for thosedisplay devices have been proposed.

However, the techniques described above have following issues. That is,for increasing the display qualities while using thin film transistors,it is difficult with the conventional pixel structure to improve thenumerical aperture while maintaining the above-described aperture shape.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been designed in view of such issues. It is anexemplary object of the present invention to provide a display devicecapable of displaying images to each of a plurality of viewpoints, whichcan display a high quality image by arranging thin film transistors andwirings while achieving the substantially trapezoid aperture shapedescribed above and high numerical aperture, and to provide its drivingmethod, a terminal device, and a display panel.

A display device according to an exemplary aspect of the inventionincludes: a plurality of pixel units each including at least pixels fordisplaying different images toward each direction; data lines forsupplying display data to each of the pixels; pixel switches fortransmitting display data signals from the data lines to the pixels;gate lines for controlling the pixel switches; and an optical elementfor distributing light emitted from each of the pixels configuring thepixel units towards different directions, wherein a neighboring pixelpair arranged with the gate line interposed therebetween is controlledby the gate line that is provided between those pixels, each of thepixels configuring the neighboring pixel pair is connected to the dataline different from each other, and each of the neighboring pixel pairsneighboring to each other in an extending direction of the gate lines isconnected to the gate line different from each other.

With this, the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pair can beconnected to the gate line placed between those pixels, and the thinfilm transistors can be disposed with high density by utilizing theareas of the neighboring pixel pair mutually. Furthermore, throughconnecting each of the pixels configuring the pixel pair to thedifferent data line from each other and connecting each of theneighboring pixel pairs neighboring to each other in the extendingdirection of the gate lines to the different gate line from each other,it becomes possible to prevent the same-kind wirings from being arrangedclose to each other. As a result, the wirings can be disposedefficiently, so that the numerical aperture can be improved. Asdescribed, the wirings and the thin film transistor can be arrangedefficiently in each of the pixels having the trapezoid aperture.Thereby, high numerical aperture can be obtained. As a result, displayqualities can be improved.

Further, in the display device according to another exemplary aspect ofthe invention, when arranging each of the pixels configuring theneighboring pixel pairs vertically in top and bottom with a common gateline interposed therebetween, there may be arranged the neighboringpixel pairs each having an upper-side pixel connected to a left-sidedata line and the neighboring pixel pairs each having an upper-sidepixel connected to a right-side data line.

With this, the neighboring pixel pairs of different structures can bearranged. Thus, it is possible to decrease influences of abnormalalignment of the liquid crystal molecules if it happens. This is becauseit is possible to prevent the abnormal state from generating at samepositions of the whole pixels, since the positions of having abnormalalignment or the like differ when the pixel structures vary. Especially,the plural-viewpoint display device according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention enlarges the images by using theimage separating device such as a lens. Therefore, when the abnormalstate occurs at the same positions of the whole pixels, the displayimage quality at the corresponding observing position becomesdeteriorated. Through arranging the neighboring pixel pairs of differentstructures, the positions at which the deteriorated display image isobserved can be dispersed. This makes it possible to improve the displayquality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a display device according to a firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the display device according to thisexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing pixels of the display device accordingto this exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a terminal device according to thisexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in thedisplay device according to this exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing an optical model of a case using alenticular lens;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the optical model at the time of minimumcurvature radius for calculating an image separating condition of thelenticular lens;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of the optical model at the time of maximumcurvature radius for calculating an image separating condition of thelenticular lens;

FIG. 9 is an illustration of the optical model showing a preferablerange of the curvature radius in the liquid crystal display device thathas trapezoid apertures;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of the optical model showing a preferablerange of the curvature radius in the liquid crystal display device thathas the trapezoid apertures;

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a light condensing system;

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing a spatial image system;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing a display device according to asecond exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing an optical model of a case using aparallax barrier;

FIG. 15 is an illustration of an optical model at the time where theopening width of slits is the maximum, for calculating an imageseparating condition of the parallax barrier;

FIG. 16 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to a third exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 18 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to a seventh exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to an eighth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to a ninth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 is a table showing polarities of data lines when each gate lineis being selected in the display device according to the exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 24 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to a tenth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 25 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixel in a displaydevice according to an eleventh exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 26 is a top plan view showing a pixel in a display device accordingto a twelfth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a top plan view showing a pixel in a display device accordingto a thirteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 28 is a top plan view showing a pixel in a display device accordingto a fourteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29 is a top plan view showing a pixel in a display device accordingto a fifteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is a top plan view showing a display device according to asixteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 31 is a top plan view showing a display device according to aseventeenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a terminal device according to aneighteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 33 is a top plan view showing a display device according to thisexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a plan view showing a display panel provided in aconventional image display device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a display device, its driving method, a terminal device,and a display panel according to exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention will be described in a concrete manner by referring to theaccompanying drawings. First, the display device, its driving method,the terminal device, and the display panel according to a firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1is a top plan view showing the display device according to the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention, which, in particular,shows a relation between electrical connection of pixels and alenticular lens as an image separating device. FIG. 2 is a sectionalview showing the display device according to this exemplary embodiment.FIG. 3 is a top plan view showing pixels of the display device accordingto this exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing aterminal device according to this exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the display device according to the firstexemplary embodiment is a display device 1 used for stereoscopic imagedisplay, which has a lenticular lens 3 provided to a display panel 2that utilizes liquid crystal molecules as electro-optical elements. Thelenticular lens 3 is disposed on the display surface side of the displaypanel 2, i.e., on the user side.

The display panel 2 is a two-viewpoint display panel for stereoscopicdisplay, in which pixel pairs (as a pixel unit) each configured with oneeach of a left-eye pixel 4L and a right-eye pixel 4R are arranged inmatrix. In this exemplary embodiment, the left-eye pixel 4L and theright-eye pixel 4R are also referred to as pixels 4 as a general term.The lenticular lens 3 is a lens array where a great number ofcylindrical lenses 3 a are arranged one-dimensionally. The cylindricallens 3 a is a one-dimensional lens having a semicylindrical convex part.The extending direction, i.e., the longitudinal direction, is adirection that is orthogonal to the arranging direction on the displaysurface. The cylindrical lens 3 a exhibits no lens effect in theextending direction, and exhibits the lens effect only in the arrangingdirection that is orthogonal to the extending direction. Thus, thelenticular lens 3 is a one-dimensional lens array that exhibits the lenseffect only in the arranging direction of the cylindrical lenses 3 a.The arranging direction of the cylindrical lenses 3 a is set as adirection towards which the left-eye pixel 4L and the right-eye pixel 4Rare arranged in a repeated manner. The cylindrical lens 3 a is arrangedby corresponding to the pixel unit mentioned above.

The cylindrical lens 3 a exhibits the lens effect only in the directionthat is orthogonal to its extending direction, as described above. Inthis exemplary embodiment, the direction exhibiting the lens effect isconsistent with the direction towards which the left-eye pixel 4L andthe right-eye pixel 4R are arranged in a repeated manner. As a result,the cylindrical lens 3 a works as a light separating device that iscapable of separating light of the left-eye pixel 4L and light of theright-eye pixel 4R towards different directions With this, thelenticular lens 3 can separate an image displayed at the left-eye pixel4L and an image displayed at the right-eye pixel 4R of each pixel unittowards different directions. That is, the lenticular lens 3 is anoptical member that works as an image separating device and an imagedistributing device. The focal distance of the cylindrical lens 3 a isset as a distance between principal point of the cylindrical lens 3 a(the vertex of the lens) and the pixel surface (the surface on which theleft-eye pixel 4L or the right-eye pixel 4R is arranged).

In the current Specification, XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is set asfollows for conveniences' sake. Regarding the direction towards whichthe left-eye pixel 4L and the right-eye pixel 4R are arranged in arepeated manner, the direction from the right-eye pixel 4R towards theleft-eye pixel 4L is defined as “+X direction”, and the oppositedirection is defined as “−X direction”. The +X direction and the −Xdirection are referred to as X-axis direction as a general term.Further, the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical lens 3 a isdefined as Y-axis direction. Furthermore, the direction that isorthogonal to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction isdefined as Z-axis direction. Regarding the Z-axis direction, thedirection from the surface on which the left-eye pixel 4L or theright-eye pixel 4R is deposited towards the lenticular lens 3 is definedas “+Z direction” and the opposite direction is defined as “−Zdirection”. That is, the +Z direction is a direction towards the front,i.e., towards a user, and the user visually recognizes the +Z side ofthe display panel 2. +Y direction is defined as a direction where aright-hand coordinate system applies. That is, the middle finger of theright hand of a person comes to point towards the +Z direction, when thethumb thereof points towards the +X direction, the index finger pointstowards the +Y direction.

By setting the XYZ coordinate system in the manner described above, thearranging direction of the cylindrical lenses 3 a is the X-axisdirection, and the image for the left eye and the image for the righteye are separated along the X-axis direction. Further, the pixel unitseach configured with the left-eye pixel 4L and the right-eye pixel 4Rare arranged in line towards the Y-axis direction. The arranging cycleof the pixel pairs in the X-axis direction is substantially equal to thearranging cycle of the cylindrical lenses. The pixel units arranged inline in the Y-axis direction are arranged by corresponding to a singlecylindrical lens 3 a.

On the display panel 2, a TFT substrate 2 a and a counter substrate 2 bare disposed by having a minute space therebetween, and a liquid crystallayer 5LC is placed in the space. The liquid crystal layer 5LC is formedto be in a transmissive TN mode, for example. The TFT substrate 2 a isplaced on the −Z direction side of the display panel 2, and the countersubstrate 2 b is placed on the +Z direction side. That is, thelenticular lens 3 is arranged further on the +Z direction side of thecounter substrate 2 b.

The display panel 2 is an active-matrix type display panel having thinfilm transistors. The thin film transistors work as switches fortransmitting display signals to each pixel, and the switches areoperated with gate signals that flow on gate lines connected to gates ofrespective switches. In this exemplary embodiment, gate lines G1-G5extending in the row direction, i.e., in the X-axis direction, areprovided on the surface on the inner side of the TFT substrate 2 a,i.e., on the surface of the +Z direction. The gate lines G1-G5 are alsoreferred to as gate lines G as a general term. Further, on the samesurface of the TFT substrate 2 a, data lines D1-D7 extending in thecolumn direction, i.e., in the Y-axis direction, are provided. The datalines D1-D7 are also referred to as data lines D as a general term. Thedata lines work to supply display data signals to the thin filmtransistors. In this exemplary embodiment, the gate lines G are extendedin the X-axis direction, and there are a plurality of them arranged inthe Y-axis direction. Further, even though the data lines D are beingbent, the extended direction of the data lines after being bent for aplurality of times is the Y-axis direction, and there are a plurality ofthem arranged in the X-axis direction. Further, a pixel (the left-eyepixel 4L or the right-eye pixel 4R) is disposed in the vicinity of anintersection point between the gate line and the data line. Inparticular, in FIG. 1, a pixel connected to the gate line G3 and thedata line D2, for example, is expressed as P32 for clearly showing theconnected relation of the pixel with respect to the gate line and thedata line. That is, the number following “P” is the gate line number(number applied after “G”), and the number thereafter is the data linenumber (number applied after “D”).

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, a pixel electrode 4PIX, a pixel thin filmtransistor 4TFT, a storage capacitance 4CS are provided to a pixel 4.The pixel thin film transistor 4TFT is a MOS-type thin film transistor,and its source electrode or drain electrode is connected to the dataline D via a contact hole 4CONT, and the other is connected either tothe pixel electrode 4PIX or to an electrode of the storage capacitance4CS. In the present invention, it is so defined that the electrode towhich the pixel electrode is connected is a source electrode, and theelectrode connected to the signal line is a drain electrode. The gateelectrode of the pixel thin film transistor 4TFT is connected to thegate line G. A storage capacitance line CS is connected to the otherelectrode of the storage capacitance 4CS. Further, a common electrode4COM is formed on the inner side of the counter substrate, and a pixelcapacitance 4CLC is formed between the common electrode 4COM and thepixel electrode 4PIX. Further, although not shown, a light shieldinglayer for covering the part other than the apertures may be formed onthe inner side of the counter substrate. A term “light shielding part”is used in this exemplary embodiment. However, this term is not limitedonly to the light shielding layer but may refer to any of those membersthat can shield light. In FIG. 3, each structural element is illustratedin appropriate size and reduced scale for securing the visibility of thedrawing. Further, the structure of the pixel 4 is common to the left-eyepixel 4L and the right-eye pixel 4R. Further, the thin film transistorand the pixel electrode shown in FIG. 3 are extracted and illustrated inFIG. 1 for showing the connecting relation of each pixel with respect tothe gate lines and the data lines.

A polysilicon thin film transistor using polycrystalline silicon as asemiconductor is used as the pixel thin film transistor 4TFT. As anexample of the polycrystalline silicon, there is a p-type semiconductorcontaining a small amount of boron. That is, the pixel thin filmtransistor 4TFT is so-called a PMOS-type thin film transistor where thesource electrode and the drain electrode becomes electrically conductivewhen a potential of the gate electrode becomes lower than a potential ofthe source electrode or the drain electrode.

For the polysilicon thin film transistor, for example, an amorphoussilicon layer is formed after forming a silicon oxide layer on the TFTsubstrate 2 a, and the amorphous silicon layer is polycrystallized toform a polysilicon thin film. As a polycrystallization method, heatannealing or laser annealing is used. In particular, laser annealingusing a laser such as an excimer laser can achieve heatpolycrystallization only on the silicon layer while suppressing thetemperature increase in the glass substrate to minimum, so that it ispossible to use a no-alkali glass or the like that has a low meltingpoint. This makes it possible to cut the cost. Thus, it is used often asso-called a low-temperature polysilicon. It is also possible to form theamorphous silicon thin film transistor by omitting the annealing step.

Then, a silicon oxide layer as a gate insulating layer is formed on thesilicon layer, and patterning is performed as appropriate. In thisprocess, it is preferable to give conductivity by doping ions to an areaother than the part used as the semiconductor layer of the silicon thinfilm. As a method for patterning, optical patterning that usesphotosensitive resist can be applied. As a way of example, afterspin-coating the photosensitive resist, light is irradiated partially byan exposure device such as a stepper, and the film of the photosensitiveresist is kept only in the part to have the pattern remained by goingthrough a development step. Thereafter, the silicon layer in the areawhere no film of the photosensitive resist remains is eliminated by dryetching or the like. At last, the film of the photosensitive resist isexfoliated.

Then, an amorphous silicon layer and a tungsten silicide layer to be thegate electrode are deposited to form the gate electrode and the like. Atthis time, the gate line to which the gate electrode is connected aswell as the storage capacitance line may also be formed. Then, a siliconoxide layer and a silicon nitride layer are formed, and then those arepatterned as appropriate. Thereafter, an aluminum layer and a titaniumlayer are deposited to form the source electrode and the drainelectrode. At this time, the data line may be formed simultaneously.

Then, a silicon nitride layer is deposited, and then it is pattered asappropriate. Thereafter, a transparent electrode such as ITO isdeposited and patterned to form the pixel electrode. With this, a pixelstructure having the thin film transistor can be formed. By using thethin film transistor, circuits for driving the gate line, the data line,and the storage capacitance line can be formed simultaneously.

FIG. 3 shows four pixels of this exemplary embodiment. In this exemplaryembodiment, the gate lines G and the storage capacitance lines CS areformed on the same layer as that of the gate electrode of the thin filmtransistor 4TFT. Further, a storage capacitance 4CS is formed between asilicon layer 4SI and the storage capacitance line CS. As describedabove, the silicon layer 4SI is connected to the data line D via thecontact hole 4CONT. However, another contact hole 4CONT provided Lo apart other than the pixel thin film transistor 4TFT in the pixel 4 isfor electrically connecting the silicon layer 4SI in the storagecapacitance 4CS to the pixel electrode 4PIX.

In this drawing, the contact holes 4CONT are painted in black, shapes ofthe pixel electrodes 4PIX are shown with dotted lines, and shapes of thesilicon layers 4SI are shown with thick lines.

In this exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a term“neighboring pixel pair” is used. It is to be understood that this termis used especially when two pixels arranged by sandwiching a gate lineare connected to the gate line that is placed between those pixels. Thatis, the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pair are controlled bythe gate line that is disposed between those pixels. In FIG. 3, the twopixels on the left side configure a neighboring pixel pair 4PAIR.

Further, each pixel configuring the neighboring pixel pair 4PAIR isconnected to a different data line from each other. Regarding theneighboring pixel pair 4PAIR on the left side of FIG. 3, the pixel 4 onthe −Y direction side is connected to the data line D disposed on the −Xdirection, and the pixel 4 on the +Y direction is connected to the dataline disposed on the +X direction side.

Neighboring pixel pairs 4PAIR neighboring to each other in the extendingdirection of the gate lines G, i.e., in the X-axis direction, are notconnected to a common gate line G but connected to different gate linesG. This is because the neighboring pixel pairs 4PAIR are neighboring toeach other in the X-axis direction while being shifted by one pixelalong the Y-axis direction. With this layout, the number of necessarywirings can be suppressed to minimum. Thus, it is possible to improvethe numerical aperture.

In this exemplary embodiment, the four pixels shown in FIG. 3 aredisposed repeatedly in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

Referring back to FIG. 1, layout of the pixels will be checked. First, aneighboring pixel pair configured with a pixel P31 and a pixel P32 willbe looked into. For conveniences' sake, this neighboring pixel pair willbe expressed as (P31, P32). There is a neighboring pixel pair (P22, P23)neighboring to the neighboring pixel pair (P31, P32) in the +Xdirection. The neighboring pixel pair (P22, P23) takes the gate line G2as a common gate line. Note here that an expression “the neighboringpixel pair takes the gate line G2 as a common gate line” means that eachof the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pair is connected to thegate line G2 (the gate line placed between those pixels) and controlledby that gate line. The neighboring pixel pair (P31, P32) takes the gateline G3 as a common gate line, so that the neighboring pixel pair (P31,P32) and the neighboring pixel pair (P22, P23) use different gate linesas the common gate lines thereof. Those common gate lines areneighboring to each other.

There is also a neighboring pixel pair (P42, P43) neighboring to theneighboring pixel pair (P31, P32) in the +X direction. Those neighboringpixel pairs also take different gate lines from each other as the commongate lines thereof.

Furthermore, there is a neighboring pixel pair (P33, P34) disposed inthe +X direction for the neighboring pixel pair (P22, P23) or theneighboring pixel pair (P42, P43). It is the same as the case of theneighboring pixel pair (P32, P32) that the neighboring pixel pair (P33,P34) takes the gate line G3 as the common gate line. That is, theneighboring pixel pairs taking the same gate line as the common gateline are disposed on every other pixel column. That is, the gate linesconnected to the neighboring pixel pairs that configure the right-eyepixels 4R are not connected to the neighboring pixel pairs thatconfigure the left-eye pixels 4L.

Next, referring back to FIG. 3, the pixel structure will be described.In this exemplary embodiment, a part of one of the pixels that configurethe neighboring pixel pair, which is connected to the data line, i.e.,the drain electrode, is arranged on the other pixel side with respect tothe common gate line of the neighboring pixel pair. Looking into theneighboring pixel pair (P31, P32), for example, the drain electrode ofthe pixel P31 is arranged at a position towards the +Y direction fromthe gate line G3, i.e., arranged on the pixel P32 side. In other words,the drain electrode and the source electrode of the thin film transistor4TFT are arranged, by having the gate line G interposed therebetween.Normally, “L size” of the thin film transistor indicates a length of thesilicon thin film in the direction where the drain electrode and thesource electrode are formed, and “W size” indicates a width of thesilicon thin film in a direction orthogonal to that direction. The “Lsize” is also referred to as a channel length, and “W size” is alsoreferred to as a channel width. Assuming that the direction where thedrain electrode and the source electrode are formed is “L direction” andthe orthogonal direction is “W direction”, the W direction of the thinfilm transistor is consistent with the extending direction of the gateline in this exemplary embodiment. Further, the silicon thin film partof the thin film transistor is arranged by overlapping with the dataline D. The thin film transistor has a single gate structure. Further,the W size is larger than the L size.

Then, each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pair isarranged to be in a dot-symmetrical relation. Further, each of theneighboring pixel pairs is arranged to be in a translated relation. Thatis, each of the neighboring pixel pairs is arranged by being translated.“Translation” is a motion of simply changing the center position ofsomething without making a dot-symmetrical motion or a line-symmetricalmotion.

Further, the display area, i.e., the area used for display, is in asubstantially trapezoid shape. Accordingly, the shape of the pixelelectrode 4PIX is also in a substantially trapezoid shape. Further, theneighboring pixel pair can also be expressed as “two pixels each havinga substantially trapezoid display area arranged with the upper bottomsfacing with each other”. Further, the thin film transistors 4TFT arearranged on the upper-bottom sides of the display areas of the pixelshaving a substantially trapezoid shape, i.e., arranged on theupper-bottom sides of each pixel configuring the neighboring pixel pair.

Further, the storage capacitance line CS is arranged in the extendingdirection of the gate line, i.e., arranged to connect the storagecapacitances of each of the pixels neighboring to each other in theX-axis direction. The positions of the thin film transistors in theY-axis direction are different in each of the pixels neighboring to eachother in the X-axis direction, so that the storage capacitance lines CSare disposed by being bent in order to connect those pixels. Like thethin film transistor, the storage capacitance is arranged on theupper-bottom side of the display area having a substantially trapezoidshape. With this, the storage capacitance can be arranged efficientlybetween the upper bottoms of each pixel that configures the neighboringpixel pair. Thus, it is possible to improve the numerical aperturefurther. Further, the storage capacitance line CS is not arranged in adirection orthogonal to the extending direction of the gate line. Thisis an extremely important point when providing an image separatingdevice having a separating a effect in the extending direction of thegate line. As will be described later, it is also an important factorfor improving the numerical aperture that the storage capacitance lineCS is formed on the same layer as the gate line G.

Further, the intersection part between the storage capacitance line CSand the data line D is arranged along the data line.

As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device according to this exemplaryembodiment is a portable telephone 9. The display device 1 describedabove is loaded on the portable telephone 9. The X-axis direction of thedisplay device 1 is a lateral direction of a screen of the portabletelephone 9, and the Y-axis direction of the display device 1 is avertical direction of the screen of the portable telephone 9.

Next, the pixel structure according to the exemplary embodiment and theeffects thereof will be described in more details. In order to achievehigh numerical aperture and high image quality in the plural-viewpointdisplay device, it is necessary to have the maximum vertical numericalaperture, while making it constant regardless of the positions of thepixels in the lateral direction. The vertical numerical aperture is avalue obtained by dividing, with a pixel pitch of the Y-axis direction,a height of an aperture in the Y-axis direction when a pixel is cut by asegment extending in a direction (i.e., Y-axis direction) that isorthogonal to the image separating direction (X-axis direction in thisexemplary embodiment) of the image separating device. It is necessary toset the vertical numerical aperture to be the maximum while making itconstant regardless of the image separating direction.

First, considering the layout of the gate lines and data lines, it ispreferable for the gate lines and the data lines to be arranged in theperiphery of each pixel. This makes it possible to cut dead spacesbetween the wirings to improve the numerical aperture. In other words,it is preferable to avoid having the gate lines or the data linesarranged neighboring to each other without providing a pixeltherebetween. If the wirings of a same kind are arranged neighboring toeach other, it becomes necessary to provide a space between the wiringsfor preventing short circuit. Thus, such space becomes a dead space,thereby deteriorating the numerical aperture.

For the relation between the extending direction of the gate lines andthe image separating direction of the image separating device, at leastthe image separating direction is arranged to be in the lateraldirection of the display device, particularly in a case of thestereoscopic image display device. Here, as in the conventional case, itis preferable for the extending direction of the gate lines to be in thelateral direction of the display device. Normally, data to be displayedis inputted assuming that the gate lines are extended in the lateraldirection and arranged in the vertical direction. Therefore, if the gatelines are extended in the vertical direction while being rotated by 90degrees, the vertical direction and the lateral direction of the inputdata need to be changed. Thus, it becomes necessary to provide anexternal memory for at least one frame, which results in increasing thecost of the display device. That is, in the stereoscopic image displaydevice, it is preferable for the image separating direction of the imageseparating device and the extending direction of the gate lines to beconsistent.

Further, it is preferable for the storage capacitance lines CS to bearranged to extend along the image separating direction. This is becausewhen the storage capacitance lines are arranged along the imageseparating direction, the image on the storage capacitance line becomesexpanded by the image separating device so that the displayed imagequality is deteriorated extremely. That is, it is preferable to reducethe wirings arranged along the image separating direction as much aspossible, and only the data lines are arranged in this exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. With this, the image quality can beimproved further.

Further, in order to set the vertical numerical aperture to be constantregardless of the positions in the image separating direction, the dadalines need to be bent from the arranging direction of the gate lines.The factors for restricting the vertical numerical aperture are thestructure of the slope of the bend part, the structure between the lowerbottoms of the trapezoid apertures, and the structure between the upperbottoms. More specifically, as in A-A line of FIG. 3, in the verticalline cutting through the oblique-side part, the height of theoblique-side part in the Y-axis direction and the height between thelower bottoms affect the vertical numerical aperture. Further, as in B-Bline of FIG. 3, in the vertical line cutting through the TFT part, theheight between the upper bottoms and the height between the lowerbottoms affect the vertical numerical aperture.

It is the height between the lower bottoms, which is common to both theA-A line and the B-B line. Thus, a structure for allowing the heightbetween the lower bottoms to be the minimum will be discussed first. Asdescribed above, it is necessary to dispose at least one gate linebetween the lower bottoms. Then, in order to minimize the height betweenthe lower bottoms, it is preferable to have only one gate line as astructure. For example, to have a thin film transistor disposed betweenthe lower bottoms is not preferable, since the height between the lowerbottoms becomes increased for that amount. At the A-A line inparticular, the lower bottoms are disposed facing with each other. Thus,an influence of the increase in the height between the lower bottoms istremendous. Therefore, it is necessary to avoid having structures placedbetween the lower bottoms as much as possible. Further, when the storagecapacitance line is formed on the same layer as that of the gate line,it is preferable not to dispose the storage capacitance line between thelower bottoms. With this, it becomes possible to shorten the processwhile reducing the height between the lower bottoms.

Next, the height of the oblique-side part at the line A-A will bediscussed. The wiring is bent in this oblique-side part, so that theheight becomes increased in accordance with the extent of the bent. Forexample, provided that a bending angle with respect to the Y-axisdirection is 0 and width of the oblique-side part is WOB, the height ofthe oblique-side part is “WOB/sin θ”. For example, when θ is 30 degrees,the height of the oblique-side part becomes twice as large as the sizeof the width. Since the height of the oblique-side part is affected byan amount of 1/sin θ-times the width, it is extremely important to keepthe width of the oblique-side part small.

For keeping the width of the oblique-side part small, it is preferablenot to place structures in the oblique-side part as much as possible.For example, if a thin film transistor is disposed on the oblique-sidepart, the width becomes increased for that amount. Thus, it is notpreferable since the height becomes increased by 1/sin θ times. However,as described above, it is necessary to dispose at least a single dataline. Further, when the storage capacitance line is formed on the samelayer as that of the gate line, especially the storage capacitance linecan be arranged by overlapping with the data line. In that case, theintersection area between the storage capacitance line CS and the dataline D comes to be placed along the data Line. Therefore, the height ofthe oblique-side part can be suppressed, thereby making it possible toimprove the vertical numerical aperture.

Lastly, the height between the upper bottoms at the B-B line will bediscussed. As described above, the thin film transistor cannot bearranged between the lower bottoms or in the oblique-side part. Thus, itis necessary to arrange the thin film transistor between the upperbottoms. Here, it is important to determine the layout for reducing theheight between the upper bottoms. As can be clearly seen from FIG. 3,the structure that has the highest height among those placed between theupper bottoms is the thin film transistor. Therefore, it is important toreduce the height of the thin film transistor, i.e., to reduce thelength in the Y-axis direction.

In this exemplary embodiment, the drain electrode and the sourceelectrode of the thin film transistor are arranged with the gate line Ginterposed therebetween. In other words, the part of one of the pixelsof the neighboring pixel pair, which is connected to the data line, isarranged on the other pixel side with respect to the common gate line ofthat neighboring pixel pair. With this, the thin film transistor can bearranged efficiently, especially when the W size of the thin filmtransistors is larger than the L size.

In the meantime, when the W direction of the thin film transistor is tobe set in parallel to the extending direction of the gate line, it isdifficult to dispose the drain electrode and the source electrode of thethin film transistor by having the gate line interposed therebetween. Asa result, it becomes difficult to arrange the thin film transistorefficiently. When the gate line and the storage capacitance line areformed on the same layer in particular, it becomes necessary to providea space between the gate line and the storage capacitance line. Thisdeteriorates the efficiency further.

Furthermore, the thin film transistors of the two pixels configuring theneighboring pixel pair are arranged at different positions in the X-axisdirection. This makes it possible to easily achieve the layout where thedrain electrode and the gate electrode are arranged by having the gateline interposed therebetween. Further, the pixels configuring theneighboring pixel pair are arranged to be in a point-symmetricalrelation. This point-symmetrical layout makes it easier to arrange eachpixel, and the number of designing steps can be reduced.

As described in this exemplary embodiment, the highest efficiency can beachieved by disposing the storage capacitance line in the vicinity ofthe thin film transistor, when forming the storage capacitance. This isevident from the fact that the storage capacitance is formed between theelectrode connected to the drain electrode of the thin film transistorand the electrode connected to the storage capacitance line.

Further, through disposing the silicon thin film part of the thin filmtransistor by stacking it over the data line D, it becomes possible toreduce an ineffective space and utilize it as a space for the storagecapacitance or the like.

Next, described is a driving method (i.e., displaying operations) of thedisplay device according to the exemplary embodiment structured asdescribed above. FIG. 5 is a top plan view showing polarities of eachpixel in the display device according to the exemplary embodiment. Inthis exemplary embodiment, the display device 1 is driven by dotinversion drive. The dot inversion drive is a driving method whichinverts polarity of display data transmitted respectively to each dataline with respect to the reference potential, inverts polarity ofdisplay data transmitted respectively to each gate line, and invertspolarity by each frame. The dot inversion drive is also referred to as1H1V inversion drive, since the polarities are inverted by every singledata line arranged in the horizontal direction (H direction) and everysingle gate line arranged in the vertical direction (V direction).

Explanations will be provided by referring to FIG. 5 which showspolarities of each pixel in a given frame obtained as a result ofperforming the dot inversion drive. First, when the gate lien G1 isselected, positive-polarity display data is transmitted to the data lineD1, and positive-polarity voltage is written to the pixel P11. Further,negative-polarity display data is transmitted to the data line D2.Similarly, positive-polarity display data is transmitted to the datalines D3, D5, D7, and negative-polarity display data is transmitted tothe data lines D4, D6. Then, when the gate line G2 is selected, thepolarities of all the data lines are inverted. That is,negative-polarity display data is transmitted to the data lines D1, D3,D5, D7, and positive-polarity display data is transmitted to the datalines D2, D4, D6. Thereafter, when the gate line G3 or the gate line G5is selected, the polarities are the same as the case of selecting thegate lien G1. When the gate line G4 is selected, the polarities are thesame as the case of selecting the gate line G2. After completing thisframe, the polarities are inverted further in a next frame. That is, atthe time of selecting the gate lines G1, G3, G5, negative-polaritydisplay data is transmitted to the data lines D1, D3, D5, D7, andpositive-polarity display data is transmitted to the data lines D2, D4,D6. Further, at the time of selecting the gate lines G2, G4,positive-polarity display data is transmitted to the data lines D1, D3,D5, D7, and negative-polarity display data is transmitted to the datalines D2, D4, D6.

As the reference potential in the dot inversion drive, the potential ofthe common electrode opposing to the pixel electrode may be employed. Ina strict manner, however, it is different from the reference voltage,since DC offset is applied to the common electrode potential in manycases to reduce an influence of feed-through of the thin film transistor

Looking at the pixel group configured with right-eye pixels 4R, pixelswith different polarities are arranged in the Y-axis direction, whilepixels with a same polarity are arranged in the X-axis direction. Thisis the same for the pixel group configured with the left-eye pixels 4L.That is, a line inversion effect is achieved at each viewpoint, so thata higher image quality can be obtained compared to others such as aframe inversion effect, etc.

In this exemplary embodiment, the odd-numbered gate lines are connectedto the right-eye pixels, and the even-numbered gate lines are connectedto the left-eye pixels. As described, the effect of enabling theleft-eye pixels or the right-eye pixels to be selected by the gate linesis extremely large. For example, in a case where display data ofside-by-side format where left- and right-images are arranged side byside in the horizontal direction is inputted, it is possible to scan twogate lines successively for one row of display data. This makes itpossible to reduce a memory required for temporarily saving the inputdata, so that the cost can be reduced. That is, in this exemplaryembodiment, the driving method that successively scans the gate linescan be employed suitably for the input of the side-by-side format

Here, an example of the structure of the stereoscopic image displaydevice according to the exemplary embodiment and conditions for thelenticular lens to work as the image distributing device will bedescribed in detail. In this exemplary embodiment, the imagedistributing device needs to distribute the light emitted from eachpixel towards different directions from each other along a firstdirection in which the left-eye pixel and the right-eye pixel arearranged, i.e., in the X-axis direction. First, a case of exhibiting theimage distributing effect to the maximum will be described by referringto FIG. 6.

It is assumed that the distance between the principle point (i.e.,vertex) of the lenticular lens 3 and the pixel is H, the refractiveindex of the lenticular lens 3 is n, the lens pitch is L, and one eachpitch of the left-eye pixel 4L or the right-eye pixel 4R is P. In thiscase, the arranging pitch of the pixe unit configured with one each ofthe left-eye pixel 4L and the right-eye pixel 4R is 2P.

Further, the distance between the lenticular lens 3 and an observer isdefined as an optimum observing distance OD, a cycle of enlargedprojection image of the pixel at the distance OD, i.e., a cycle of thewidth of the projection images of the left-eye pixel 4L and theright-eye pixel 4R on a virtual plane that is in parallel to the lensand is away from the lens by the distance OD, is defined as e for each.Further, the distance from the center of the cylindrical lens 3 alocated at the center of the lenticular lens 3 to the center of thecylindrical lens 3 a located at the end of the lenticular lens 3 in theX-axis direction is defined as WL, and the distance between the centerof the pixel unit configured with the left-eye pixel 4L and theright-eye pixel 4R located in the center of the reflection-type liquidcrystal display panel 2 and the center of the pixel unit located at theend of the display panel 2 in the X-axis direction is defined as WP.Furthermore, the light incident angle and the light exit angle of thecylindrical lens 3 a located in the center of the lenticular lens 3 aredefined as α and β, respectively, and the light incident angle and thelight exit angle of the cylindrical lens 3 a located at the end of thelenticular lens 3 in the X-axis direction are defined as γ and δ,respectively. Further, the difference between the distance WL and thedistance WP is defined as C, and the number of pixels contained in thearea of distance WP is defined as 2m.

There is a mutual relationship between the arranging pitch L of thecylindrical lenses 3 a and the arranging pitch. P of the pixels. Thus,one of the pitches is determined depending on the other. Normally, thearranging pitch P of the pixels is taken as the constant, since thelenticular lens is designed in accordance with the display panel in manycases. Further, the refractive index n is determined depending on theselection of the material for the lenticular lens 3. In the meantime,desired values are set for the observing distance OD between the lensand the observer, and the cycles e of the pixel enlarged projectionimages at the observing distance OD. The distance H between the lensvertex and the pixel as well as the lens pitch L is determined by usingthose values. Following Expressions 1-6 apply, according to Snell's lawand geometrical relations. Further, following Expressions 7-9 apply.

N×sin α=sin β  Expression 1

OD×tan β=e   Expression 2

H×tan α=P   Expression 3

n×sin γ=sin δ  Expression 4

H×tan γ=C   Expression 5

OD×tan δ=WL   Expression 6

WP−WL=C   Expression 7

WP=2×m×P   Expression 8

WL=m×L   Expression 9

As mentioned above, the case of exhibiting the image distributing effectto the maximum will be discussed. This is a case where the distance Hbetween the vertex of the lenticular lens and the pixel is set to beequal to the focal distance f of the lenticular lens. With this,Expression 10 in the following applies. Furthers assuming that thecurvature radius of the lens is r, the curvature radius r is obtainedfrom Expression 11 in the followings.

f=H   Expression 10

r=H×(n−1)/n   Expression 11

The parameters above can be summarized as follows. That is, thearranging pitch P of the pixels is a value determined depending on thedisplay panel, and the observing distance OD and the cycles e of thepixel enlarged projection images are values determined according to thesetting of the display device. The refractive index n is determineddepending on the material and quality of the lens and the like. Thearranging pitch L of the lenses and the distance H between the lens andthe pixels calculated from those values can be the parameters fordetermining the positions where the light from each pixel is projectedon the observing plane. The parameter that changes the imagedistributing effect is the curvature radius r of the lens. That is, ifthe curvature radius of the lens is changed from an ideal state in acase where the distance H between the lens and the pixel is fixed, theimages at the pixels on the left and right become blurred. Thus, theimages cannot be separated clearly. That is, it is necessary to find arange of the curvature radius with which the effective separation can beperformed.

First, the minimum value in the range of the curvature radius forproducing the separating effect of the lens is calculated. As shown inFIG. 7, in order to have the separating effect, it is necessary to havea relation of similarity between a triangle having the lens pitch L asthe base and the focal distance f as the height and a triangle havingthe pixel pitch P as the base and H−f as the height. With that,Expression 12 in the followings applies, and the minimum value of thefocal distance, “fmin”, can be obtained.

fmin==H×L/(L+P)   Expression 12

Then, the curvature radius is calculated from the focal distance. Theminimum value of the curvature radius, “rmin”, can be calculated as inExpression 13 by using Expression 11.

rmin=H×L×(n−1)/(L+P)/n

Then, the maximum is calculated. As shown in FIG. 8, in order to havethe separating effect, it is necessary to have a relation of similaritybetween a triangle having the lens pitch L as the base and the focaldistance f as the height and a triangle having the pixel pitch P as thebase and H−f as the height.

With that, Expression 14 in the followings applies, and the maximumvalue of the focal distance, “fmax”, can be obtained.

fmax=H×L/(L−P)   Expression 14

Next, the curvature radius is calculated from the focal distance. Themaximum value of the curvature radius, “rmax”, can be obtained as inExpression 15 by utilizing Expression 11.

rmax=H×L×(n−1)/(L−P)/n   Expression 15

In short, it is necessary for the curvature radius of the lens to fallwithin the range of Expression 16 obtained from Expression 13 andExpression 15, in order for the lens to achieve the image distributingeffect.

H×L×(n−1)/(L+P)/n≦r≦H×L×(n−1)/(L−P)/n   Expression 16

In the above, the stereoscopic image display device of two viewpointshaving left-eye pixels and right-eye pixels has been described. However,the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is not limited only tothat. For example, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention canbe applied to an N-viewpoint type display device in the same manner. Inthis case, the number of pixels contained in the area of the distance WPmay be changed from “2m” to “N×m” in the definition of the distance WPdescribed above.

In order to achieve still higher image quality with the structure of theexemplary embodiment, it is preferable to have perfectly constantvertical numerical aperture regardless of the positions in the lateraldirection. However, it is difficult to have the perfectly constantvertical numerical aperture in the vicinity of the vertexes of theoblique-side parts of the trapezoid apertures in particular, due to theprocess accuracy of the light shielding parts, etc. Thus, as shown inFIG. 9 and FIG. 10, this exemplary embodiment enables high picturequality by reducing influences of the process accuracy of the lightshielding parts through arranging the focal point of the lens shiftedfrom the pixel surface. Assuming here that the width of the oblique-sidearea in the X-axis direction is TW, it is preferable for a spot diameteron the pixel surface when the focal point of the lens is shifted fromthe pixel surface to be between TW and 2×TW, both inclusive. When thespot diameter is TW, it is a limit for the influences of theintersection points between the oblique sides and the upper bottom ofthe trapezoid aperture and the intersection points between the obliquesides and the lower bottom to be obscured in a composite manner. Thus,it is preferable to be set larger than that. When the spot diameter is2×TW, the obscuring amount at the intersection points between theoblique lines and the upper bottom of the trapezoid aperture can beexpanded to the positions of the intersection points between the obliquesides and the lower bottom. However, it is not preferable for theobscuring amount to become larger than this, because the separatingperformance of the lens starts to deteriorate. Therefore, it ispreferable to set the lens curvature radius within a range with whichExpression 17 and Expression 18 in the followings apply.

H×L×(n−1)/(L+2×TW)/n≦r≦H×L×(n−1)/(L+TW)/n   Expression 17

H×L×(n−1)/(L−TW)/n≦r≦H×L×(n−1)/(L−2×TW)/n   Expression 18

Furthermore, comparing the oblique sides and the lower bottom part atthe A-A line to the upper bottom part and the lower bottom part at theB-B line shown in FIG. 3, the B-B line crosses the border line betweenthe aperture and the light shielding twice per pixel at the upper bottomand the lower bottom, whereas the A-A line crosses twice at the upperbottom and the lower bottom as well as twice at the oblique-side partper pixel (four times in total). That is, when the light shielding partsare formed in areas other than the aperture areas and if the lightshielding parts are formed larger than the designed value, the verticalnumerical aperture becomes deteriorated at the A-A line than at the B-Bline. For example, if the only one side of the light shielding part isformed lager than the designed value by “ΔWOB”, the height of thevertical numerical aperture at the B-B line becomes smaller by “2×ΔWOB”.In the meantime, the height of the vertical numerical aperture at theA-A line becomes smaller by “2×ΔWOB(1+1/sin θ)”. As described above, theangle θ is the tilt angle of the oblique-side part with respect to theY-axis direction.

Thus, especially in a case where it is known in advance that only theone side of the light shielding part is to be formed large by “ΔWOB”, itis effective to set the length of the light shielding part in the Y-axisdirection in the oblique-side part to be smaller by “2×ΔWOB/sin θ”.

The explanations above are of the type which sets a plurality ofviewpoints on the observing plane, and emits the light of the pixels foreach viewpoint from all the pixel units on the display surface towardseach of the set viewpoints. This type is also referred to as a lightconverging type, since it collects the light of corresponding viewpointstowards a certain viewpoint. The two-viewpoint stereoscopic imagedisplay device described above and multiple-viewpoint-type stereoscopicimage display device which increases the number of viewpoints areclassified as the light converging type. FIG. 11 shows a conceptualdiagram of the light converging type. It is a feature of the convergingtype that it displays images by regenerating the light rays that makeincident on the observer's eyes. The exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention can be effectively applied to such light converging type.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, there are also proposed types such as aspatial image type and a spatial image reproducing type, a spatial imageregenerating type, a spatial image forming type, and the like. Unlikethe light converging type, the spatial image types do not set specificviewpoints. The spatial image types are different from the lightconverging type in respect that images are displayed to regenerate thelight emitted from objects in the space. Stereoscopic image displaydevices such as an integral photography type, an integral videographytype, and an integral imaging type are classified as such spatial imagetypes. With the spatial image type, an observer at an arbitrary positiondoes not visually recognize only the pixels for a same viewpoint on theentire display surface. However, there are plurality of kinds of areaswith a prescribed width formed by the pixels for a same viewpoint. Ineach of those areas, the exemplary embodiment of the present inventioncan achieve the same effect as that of the light converging typedescribed above. Thus, the exemplary embodiment of the present inventioncan also be applied to the spatial image type effectively.

Note here that the term “viewpoint” in this exemplary embodiment meansas “the position from which the display device is observed (observingposition)” and “a point or an area where the eyes of the user are to belocated” but not “a certain point on the display area the user paysspecial attention (viewing point)”.

For simplifying the explanations, the number of the gate lines and thenumber of the data lines in this exemplary embodiment are limited to thenumbers required for the explanations. However, the exemplary embodimentof the present invention is not limited to such numbers, and theessential of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is notaffected by those numbers.

Further, the exemplary embodiment has been so described that the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode of the thin film transistor becomeconductive, when the potential of the gate electrode becomes lower thanthe potential of the source electrode or the drain electrode. It is alsopossible to use so-called an NMOS-type thin film transistor whichbecomes conductive when the potential of the gate electrode becomeshigher than the potential of the source electrode or the drainelectrode.

Furthermore, in this exemplary embodiment, the contact holes of thepixels are formed by being shifted from the center of the pixels in theX-axis direction. It is highly probable for the viewpoints to be in thevicinity of the centers of the pixels when enlarged and projected on theobserving plane by the image separating device such as a lens. If thecontact holes are disposed in the vicinity of the centers of the pixels,alignment of the liquid crystal molecules may be disturbed. This mayimpose a bad influence on the display. Thus, when the contact holes aredisposed in the vicinity of the centers of the pixels, a risk ofdeteriorating the display image quality is increased at mostrecognizable positions. Therefore, the display quality can be improvedthrough disposing the contact holes by having those shifted from theareas in the vicinity of the centers of the pixels, as in this exemplaryembodiment. Furthermore, it is also possible to prevent the X-axiscoordinates of each of the contact holes from becoming consistent witheach other, even if each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixelpairs are arranged in a dot-symmetrical relation. This makes it possibleto avoid having duplicated influences of a plurality of contact holesimposed at the same position on the observing plane, so that a highimage quality can be obtained.

Furthermore, the exemplary embodiment has been so described that each ofthe pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pairs are arranged in adot-symmetrical relation. This means that the positions the thin filmtransistors of each pixel configuring the neighboring pixel pair aresymmetrical in the X-axis direction with respect to the center line ofthe neighboring pixel pair in the X-axis direction. However, theexemplary embodiment is not limited to such case. The positions of thethin film transistors of each pixel configuring the neighboring pixelpair in the X-axis direction may be asymmetrical. With this, the thinfilm transistors can be positioned at different locations in each pixel,so that it is possible to avoid having duplicated influences of aplurality of thin film transistors imposed at the same position on theobserving plane. Therefore, a high image quality can be obtained.

Further, the exemplary embodiment has been so described that a lightshielding layer for covering the areas other than the aperture parts ofthe pixels may be formed on the inner side of the counter substrate.This light shielding layer may cover a part of the aperture parts of thepixels. An aperture part formed by the light shielding layer may be in asimilar shape as the aperture part of the pixel, or the aperture partformed by the light shielding layer may be smaller. This makes itpossible to suppress changes in the shape of the apertures even whenpositions of the TFT substrate and the counter substrate become shifted.As a result, a high image quality can be obtained.

Further, the connecting relation regarding the gate lines, the datalines, and the pixels in the exemplary embodiment can be expressed asfollows. That is, regarding a pixel column sandwiched between two datalines among a plurality of data lines, the pixel connected to one of thedata lines via a pixel switch and the pixel connected to the other dataline via a pixel switch are arranged alternately. Further, regarding apixel row sandwiched between two gate lines among a plurality of gatelines, the pixel connected to one of the gate lines via the pixel switchand the pixel connected to the other gate line via the pixel switch arearranged alternately. For such layout, it is preferable to have the datalines in the number that is one more than the number of the pixelcolumns. Similarly, it is preferable to have the gate lines in thenumber that is one more than the number of the pixel rows.

The lenticular lens according to the exemplary embodiment has beendescribed by referring to the structure where the lens plane is arrangedon the plane in the +Z direction that is the direction of the user side.However, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is notlimited to such case. The lens plane may be arranged on the plane in the−Z direction that is the direction on the display panel side. In thiscase, the distance between the lens and the pixels can be made shorterThus, it is advantageous for achieving high definition display.

Further, the pixel unit may be formed in a square. To form the pixelunit in a square means that the pitch in the X-axis direction of thepixel unit is the same as the pitch in the Y-axis direction. In otherwords, all the pitches for repeatedly arranging the pixel units are thesame in the direction towards which the pixel units are arranged.

Further, the display panel according to the exemplary embodiment hasbeen described as a liquid crystal display panel that utilizes liquidcrystal molecules as electro-optical elements. As the liquid crystaldisplay panel, not only a transmissive liquid crystal display panel butalso a reflective liquid crystal display panel, a semi-transmissiveliquid crystal display panel, a small-reflective liquid crystal displaypanel that has a larger proportion of the transmission area than thereflection area, a small-transmissive liquid crystal display panel thathas a larger proportion of the reflection area than the transmissionarea, and the like can be employed. Further, the driving method of thedisplay panel can be applied suitably to the TFT type. As the thin filmtransistors of the TFT type, not only those using amorphous silicon,low-temperature polysilicon, high-temperature polysilicon, or a singlecrystal silicon, but also those using an organic substance such aspentacene, metal oxide such as zinc oxide, or carbon nanotube may beemployed suitably. Further, the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention does not depend on the structure of the thin film transistor.A bottom-gate type, a top-gate type, a stagger type, an inverted staggertype, and the like may be employed suitably. Furthermore, the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention can be applied to display panelsother than the liquid crystal type, such as an organicelectro-luminescence display panel, or a PALC (Plasma Address LiquidCrystal).

Further, a portable telephone is described as the terminal device inthis exemplary embodiment. However, the exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention is not limited only to that, but may be applied tovarious kinds of terminal devices such as PDAs, personal TVs, gamemachines, digital cameras, digital video cameras, and notebook-typepersonal computers. Furthermore, the exemplary embodiment can be appliednot only to the portable terminal devices but also to various kinds offixed terminal devices such as cash dispensers, vending machines,monitors, and television receiver sets.

As an exemplary advantage according to the invention, it is possible toefficiently arrange the wirings and the thin film transistor for each ofthe pixels having the substantially trapezoid aperture in the displaydevice that is provided with the image distributing optical element suchas the lenticular lens or the parallax barrier. Therefore, a high imagequality can be achieved.

Next, a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing display device accordingto the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Compared tothe first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the secondexemplary embodiment is different in respect that it uses a parallaxbarrier as the image distributing device instead of using the lenticularlens. As shown in FIG. 12, in a display device 11 of this exemplaryembodiment, a parallax barrier 7 that is a slit array having a greatnumber of slits 7 a provided in the X-axis direction is disposed. Otherstructures of the second exemplary embodiment are the same as those ofthe first exemplary embodiment described above.

This exemplary embodiment implements reduction of the cost, since theparallax barrier can be fabricated easily by using photolithography.This is also due to the fact that the parallax barrier is in a flattwo-dimensional shape, whereas the lenticular lens is in athree-dimensional shape having a structure in the height direction.However, there is no light loss caused by the image separating device,when the lenticular lens is used. Therefore, the lenticular lens type isadvantageous in terms of achieving bright reflection display.

Here, conditions for the parallax barrier to work as the imagedistributing device will be described in detail. First, the parallaxbarrier system will be described by referring to FIG. 14.

The parallax barrier 7 is a barrier (light shielding plate) on which agreat number of thin vertically striped openings, i.e., the slits 7 a,are formed. In other words, the parallax barrier is an optical member inwhich a plurality of slits extending in a second direction that isorthogonal to a first direction to be the distributing direction areformed to be arranged along the first direction. When light emitted froma left-eye pixel 4L to the parallax barrier 7 transmits through theslits 7 a, it turns out as a light flux that travels towards an area EL.Similarly, when light emitted from a right-eye pixel 4R to the parallaxbarrier 7 transmits through the slits 7 a, it turns out as a light fluxthat travels towards an area ER. When an observer places the left eye55L at the area EL and the right eye 55R at the area ER, the observercan recognize a stereoscopic image.

Next, a stereoscopic display device having a parallax barrier withslit-like openings formed on the front face of a display panel will bedescribed in detail, regarding the sizes of each part. As shown in FIG.14, an arranging pitch of the slits 7 a of the parallax barrier 7 isdefined as L, and distance between the parallax barrier 7 and the pixelsis defined as H. Further, distance between the parallax barrier 7 andthe observer is defined as an optimum observing distance OD.Furthermore, distance from the center of a slit 7 a positioned at thecenter of the parallax barrier 7 to the center of a slit 7 a positionedat the end of the parallax barrier 7 in the X-axis direction is definedas WL. The parallax barrier 7 itself is a light shielding plate, so thatincident light does not transmit therethrough except for the slits 7 a.However, a substrate for supporting a barrier layer is to be provided,and the refractive index of the substrate is defined as n. If there isno supporting substrate provided therein, the refractive index n may beset as “1” that is the refractive index of the air. With suchdefinitions, the light emitted from the slit 7 a is refracted accordingto the Snell's law when it is emitted from the substrate that supportsthe barrier layer Here, the light incident angle and the light exitangle regarding the slit 7 a located in the center of the parallaxbarrier 7 are defined as α and β, respectively, and the light incidentangle and the light exit angle at the slit 7 a located at the end of theparallax barrier 7 in the X-axis direction are defined as γ and δ,respectively. Further, the opening width of the slit 7 a is defined asS1. There is a mutual relationship between the arranging pitch L of theslits 7 a and the arranging pitch P of the pixels. Thus, one of thepitches is determined depending on the other. Normally, the arrangingpitch P of the pixels is taken as the constant since the parallaxbarrier is designed in accordance with the display panel in many cases.Further, the refractive index n is determined depending on the selectionof the material for the supporting substrate of the barrier layer. Inthe meantime, desired values are set for the observing distance ODbetween the parallax barrier and the observer, and the cycles e of thepixel enlarged projection images at the observing distance OD. Thedistance H between the barrier and the pixel as well as the barrierpitch L is determined by using those values. Following Expressions 19-24apply, according to Snell's law and geometrical relations. Further,following Expressions 25-27 apply.

N×sin α=sin β  Expression 19

OD×tan β=e   Expression 20

H×tan α=P   Expression 21

n×sin γ=sin δ  Expression 22

H×tan γ=C   Expression 23

OD×tan δ=WL   Expression 24

WP−WL=C   Expression 25

WP=2×m×P   Expression 26

WL=m×L   Expression 27

In the above, the two-viewpoint stereoscopic image display device havingleft-eye pixels and right-eye pixels has been described. However, theexemplary embodiment of the present invention is not limited only tothat. For example, the exemplary embodiment of the present invention canbe applied to an N-viewpoint type display device in the same manner. Inthis case, the number of pixels contained in the area of the distance WPmay be changed from “2m” to “N×m” in the definition of the distance WPdescribed above.

The parameters above can be summarized as follows. That is, thearranging pitch P of the pixels is a value determined depending on thedisplay panel, and the observing distance OD and the cycles e of theenlarged projection images are values determined according to thesetting of the display device. The refractive index n is determineddepending on the material and quality of the supporting substrate andthe like. The arranging pitch L of the slits and the distance betweenthe parallax barrier and the pixels calculated from those values can bethe parameters for determining the positions where the light from eachpixel is projected on the observing plane. The parameter that changesthe image distributing effect is the opening width S1 of the slits. Thatis, when the distance H between the barrier and the pixels is fixed, thesmaller the opening width S1 of the slits becomes, the clearer theimages at the pixels on the left and right sides can be separated. Thisis the same principle as the case of a pinhole camera. Thus, when theopening width S1 becomes larger, the images at the pixels on the leftand right sides become blur. Thus, those images cannot be separatedclearly.

The range of the widths of the slits with which effective separation canbe achieved by the parallax barrier can be calculated more intuitivelythan the case of the lens type. As shown in FIG. 15, the light emittedfrom the boundary between the left-eye pixel 4L and the right-eye pixel4R is narrowed into the width S1 that is the opening width of the slit,when passing through the slit 7 a. Then, it travels the distance OD andreaches the observing plane. In order to have the separating effect, thewidth at the observing plane needs to be equal toe or smaller. If thewidth becomes wider than that, it is larger than the projection cycle ofthe left and right pixels, so that the images cannot be separated. Theopening width S1 of the slit 7 a in this case is a half the slit pitchL. That is, the range of the width of the slits with which effectiveseparation can be achieved by the parallax barrier is ½ of the slitpitch or smaller.

Effects of the second exemplary embodiment other than those describedabove are the same as those of the first exemplary embodiment describedabove.

Next, a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 16 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the third exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the third exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs 2-line dot inversion drive. The2-line inversion drive method is a driving method which invertspolarities by every two gate lines, unlike the case of the dot inversiondriving method. The 2-line dot inversion drive is also referred to as1H2V dot inversion drive. This is because the polarities are invertedfor every single data line arranged in the horizontal direction (Hdirection) or by every two gate lines that are arranged in the verticaldirection (V direction).

That is, as shown in FIG. 16, when the gate lines G1 and G2 areselected, positive-polarity display data is transmitted to the datalines D1, D3, D5, D7, and negative-polarity display data is transmittedto the data lines D2, D4, D6. When the gate lines G3 and G4 areselected, negative-polarity display data is transmitted to the datalines D1, D3, D5, D7, and positive-polarity display data is transmittedto the data lines D2, D4, D6. Thereby, the polarity distribution asshown in FIG. 16 can be achieved. It can be seen that a 2-line inversioneffect is implemented for the pixel groups configured with the right-eyepixels 4R. That is, different polarities are set for every two pixels inthe Y-axis direction, and the pixels with the same polarity are arrangedin the X-axis direction. This is the same for the pixel groups that areconfigured with the left-eye pixels 4L. Structures of the thirdexemplary embodiment other than those described above are the same asthose of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

This exemplary embodiment is not only capable of achieving the 2-lineinversion effect at each viewpoint but also capable of allowing thebottom sides of the trapezoid apertures of the pixels to be of the samepolarity. This makes it possible to suppress abnormal alignment of theliquid crystal molecules in the vicinity of the bottom sides. Thus, ahigh image quality can be obtained. Further, the height of the lightshielding part between the lower bottoms can also be reduced. Therefore,the numerical aperture can be improved so that bright display can beimplemented. Effects of the third exemplary embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as those of the first exemplary embodimentdescribed above.

Next, a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 17 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the fourth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention Compared to the third exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the fourth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs line inversion drive. The lineinversion drive is a driving method which inverts polarities for everysingle line. However, the data lines are configured to be in a samepolarity. Through changing the potential of the counter electrode forevery single line, the polarity of the display data written to thepixels can be inverted without inverting the polarity of the displaydata transmitted to the data lines. With this, withstanding pressure ofthe data line driving circuits can be reduced, so that the cost can belowered.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the gate lines G1, G3, and G5 are selected,positive-polarity display data is written to the pixels that areconnected to the data lines D1-D7. When the gate lines G2 and G4 areselected, negative-polarity display data is written to the pixels thatare connected to the data lines D1-D7. Thereby, the polaritydistribution as shown in FIG. 17 can be achieved. It can be seen thatall the pixels are of the positive polarity, when looking at the pixelgroups configured with the right-eye pixels 4R. Further, it can be seenthat all the pixels are of the negative polarity, when looking at thepixel groups configured with the left-eye pixels 4L. In a next frame,the polarities are inverted, so that the pixel groups configured withthe right-eye pixels 4R come to have pixels of negative-polarity (allthe pixels) while the pixel groups configured with the left-eye pixels4L come to have the pixels of positive-polarity (all the pixels).Structures of the fourth exemplary embodiment other than those describedabove are the same as those of the third exemplary embodiment describedabove.

It is possible with this exemplary embodiment to achieve the frameinversion drive effect at each viewpoint. Further, it is also possibleto set the bottom sides of the trapezoid apertures of the pixels to beof the same polarity, so that a high image quality can be obtained.Effects of the fourth exemplary embodiment other than those describedabove are the same as those of the third exemplary embodiment describedabove.

Next, a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 18 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the fifth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Compared to the fourth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the fifth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs 2-line inversion drive.

That is, as shown in FIG. 18, when the gate lines G1, G3, and G5selected, positive-polarity display data is written to the pixels thatare connected to the data lines D1-D7. When the gate lines G2 and G4 areselected, negative-polarity display data is written to the pixels thatare connected to the data lines D1-D7. In a next frame, the positive andnegative polarities are inverted. It can be seen that the pixels of thepositive and negative polarities are disposed in a 2-line inversionstate, when looking at the pixel groups configured with the right-eyepixels 4R. This is the same for the pixel groups configured with theleft-eye pixels 4L. Structures of the fifth exemplary embodiment otherthan those described above are the same as those of the fourth exemplaryembodiment described above.

Through employing the 2-line inversion drive, this exemplary embodimentis capable of achieving the line inversion effect (even though it is the2-line inversion) by having the line inversion drive as the base. Thismakes it possible to have minute polarity distribution for eachviewpoint in lines, so that a higher image quality can be achieved thanthe case of having only a frame inversion effect. Effects of the fifthexemplary embodiment other than those described above are the same asthose of the fourth exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 19 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the sixth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Compared to the fourth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the sixth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs frame inversion drive. The frameinversion drive is a driving method which does not invert the polarityof the data lines in a frame. That is, a same polarity is supplied tothe whole surface while driving the scanning lines of a given period,and the polarity is inverted for a next period of driving the scanninglines.

That is, as shown in FIG. 19, when the gate lines G1-G5 selected,positive-polarity display data is written to the pixels that areconnected to the data lines D1-D7. In a next frame, negative-polaritydisplay data is written thereto. As a result, all the pixels of thepixel groups configured with the right-eye pixels 4R and the pixelgroups configured with the left-eye pixels 4L come to have a samepolarity. Structures of the sixth exemplary embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as those of the fourth exemplary embodimentdescribed above.

It is possible with this exemplary embodiment to set the polarities ateach viewpoint to be uniform through employing the frame inversiondrive. Further, it is not only capable of setting the bottom sides ofthe trapezoid apertures of the pixels to be of the same polarity, butalso capable of setting the oblique sides to be of the same polarity aswell. Therefore, abnormal alignment of the liquid crystal molecules canbe suppressed, so that a high image quality can be obtained.

It is not possible with this exemplary embodiment to achieve a uniformeffect, such as the line inversion effect or the dot inversion effect byspatially distributing the polarities. Thus, the display quality may beimproved by achieving a uniform effect in terms of the time axis byincreasing the frame frequency (double speed, in particular) The framefrequency effective for that is 70 Hz or higher. Effects of the sixthexemplary embodiment other than those described above are the same asthose of the fourth exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a seventh exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 20 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the seventh exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the seventh exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs 2H1V inversion drive. The 2H1Vinversion drive is a driving method which inverts the polarity of thedata lines by a 2-line unit, and inverts the polarity of the gate linefor every single line.

That is, as shown in FIG. 20, when the gate line G1 is selected,positive-polarity display data is written to the pixels that areconnected to the data lines D1, D2, D5, D6, and negative-polaritydisplay data is written to the pixels that are connected to the datalines D3, D4, D7. Then, when the gate line G2 is selected,negative-polarity display data is written to the pixels that areconnected to the data lines D1, D2, D5, D6, and positive-polaritydisplay data is written to the pixels that are connected to the datalines D3, D4, D7. In a next frame, display data of inverted polaritiesare written to the respective data lines. As a result, a columninversion effect can be achieved with the pixel groups that areconfigured with the right-eye pixels 4R, in which pixels of the samepolarity are arranged in the vertical direction and pixels of differentpolarity thereof are arranged in the lateral direction. In the meantime,a dot inversion effect can be achieved with the pixel groups that areconfigured with the left-eye pixels.

Here, the storage capacitance line will be considered. The storagecapacitance line placed between the gate lines G1 and G2 in particularis connected to the pixels P11, P23, P13, P25, P27, and P17. When thegate line G1 is selected, the display data is written to the pixels P11,P13, and P17. When the 2H1V inversion drive is employed, thepositive-polarity data is written to the pixel P11, thenegative-polarity display data is written to the pixel P13, and thepositive-polarity display data is written to the pixel P17. As mentionedabove, a plurality of pixels which are connected to each storagecapacitance line and have the display data written thereto when the gateline is selected include the pixels to which the positive-polaritydisplay data is written and the pixels to which the negative-polaritydisplay data is written. Structures of the fifth exemplary embodimentother than those described above are the same as those of the fourthexemplary embodiment described above.

In this exemplary embodiment, it is possible to achieve the dotinversion effect at least for one of the viewpoints even though theinversion effects differ for the left pixel groups and right pixelgroups. Thus, a high image quality can be achieved at least for oneviewpoint. Normally, human beings can utilize information with a bettervisually recognized condition, when the visually recognized conditionsof the left and right eyes vary. For example, when the eyesight isdifferent between both eyes, a video perceived by the eye of bettereyesight is recognized, and particularly the fine part is compensated.When the display of the dot inversion effect visually recognized by theleft eye is better than the display of the column inversion effectvisually recognized by the right eye, it is possible with the exemplaryembodiment to utilize the better display of the left eye to improve thedisplay quality to be visually recognized. As mentioned, the quality asa whole can be improved through improving the display quality even justfor one of the eyes rather than having deteriorated display quality forboth eyes.

Further, it is possible with this exemplary embodiment to suppressfluctuation of the potential of the storage capacitance line whenwriting the display data to each pixel. This is because not only thepixels to which the positive-polarity display data is written but alsothe pixels to which the negative-polarity display data is written areconnected to each storage capacitance line. This makes it possible toprevent the potential of the storage capacitance line from beingfluctuated to one of the polarities, so that high quality display can beachieved by decreasing lateral-direction crosstalk and the like. Effectsof the seventh exemplary embodiment other than those described above arethe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, an eighth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 21 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the eighth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Compared to the seventh exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the eighth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs 2H2V inversion drive. The 2H2Vinversion drive is a driving method which inverts the polarity of thedata lines by a 2-line unit, and inverts the polarity of the gate lineby a 2-line unit as well.

That is, as shown in FIG. 21, when the gate line G1 is selected,positive-polarity display data is written to the pixels that areconnected to the data lines D1, D2, D5, D6, and negative-polaritydisplay data is written to the pixels that are connected to the datalines D3, D4, D7. This is the same when the gate line G2 is selected.Then, when the gate line G3 is selected, negative-polarity display datais written to the pixels that are connected to the data lines D1, D2,D5, D6, and positive-polarity display data is written to the pixels thatare connected to the data lines D3, D4, D7. This is the same when thenext gate line G4 is selected. In a next frame, display data of invertedpolarities are written to the respective data lines. As a result, thepixel groups configured with the right-eye pixels 4R are in a polaritydistribution with which the 2-line dot inversion (1H2V dot inversion)effect can be achieved. This is the same for the pixels groups that areconfigured with the left-eye pixels 4L. Structures of the eighthexemplary embodiment other than those described above are the same asthose of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

With this exemplary embodiment, the pixel groups of the pixels for eachviewpoint can all have the 2-line dot inversion effect. Therefore, thedisplay quality can be improved. Further, as in the case of the seventhembodiment, fluctuation of the potential of each storage capacitanceline can be suppressed.

As described in the third exemplary embodiment and the fifth exemplaryembodiment, with the pixel structure according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, 2V inversion drive which invertsthe polarity by every two gate lines can be combined suitably. Effectsof the eighth exemplary embodiment other than those described above arethe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a ninth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 22 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the ninth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 23 is a table showing polarities of datalines when respective gate lines are being selected in the displaydevice according to this exemplary embodiment. Compared to the firstexemplary embodiment of the present invention described above, the ninthexemplary embodiment is distinctive in respect that it employs a drivingmethod which uses 2H1V inversion drive as a base, and shifts a block ofthe same polarity successively.

That is, as shown in FIG. 22 and FIG. 23, when the gate lien G1 isselected, positive-polarity display data, negative-polarity displaydata, negative polarity display data, and positive-polarity display dataare written, respectively, to the pixels connected to the data linesD1-D4. This set is written repeatedly to the pixels in the data linedirection. That is, positive-polarity display data, negative-polaritydisplay data, and negative polarity display data are written,respectively, to the pixels connected to the data lines D5-D7.Considering the data lines D1-D4, the polarities of the display datawritten thereto are “positive, positive, negative, negative” when thegate lines G2 is selected, “negative, positive, positive, negative” whenthe gate line G3 is selected, and “negative, negative, positive,positive” when the gate line G4 is selected. Under the selection of thegate line G5 and thereafter, the operations a executed at the time ofselecting the gate lines G1-G4 are repeated. That is, the polaritydistribution shown with a thick frame in FIG. 23 is repeated in theX-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. This exemplary embodimentemploys, as the base, 2H1V inversion drive which inverts the polarity ofthe data lines by a 2-line unit, and inverts the polarity of the gateline for every single line. However, the driving method of thisexemplary embodiment is distinctive in respect that the polaritydistribution of each gate line becomes shifted for every single dataline, compared to the 2H1V inversion drive. In other words, for thestate where an odd-numbered gate line is selected and the state where aneven-numbered gate line is selected, the polarity of the display datatransmitted to the data line is shifted by a single data line.

As a result, the pixel groups configured with the right-eye pixels 4Rare in a polarity distribution with which the 2-line dot inversion (1H2Vdot inversion) effect can be achieved. This is the same for the pixelgroups that are configured with the left-eye pixels 4L. Structures ofthe ninth exemplary embodiment other than those described above are thesame as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

With this exemplary embodiment, the polarity distribution for eachviewpoint can all have the 2-line dot inversion effect. Further, it ispossible to suppress fluctuation in the potential of each storagecapacitance line and to set the polarities of the pixels having thebottom sides of the trapezoid apertures neighboring to each other to bethe same. Thereby, the display quality can be improved.

With this exemplary embodiment, especially a driving method which scansevery other gate line can be employed suitably. That is, whenodd-numbered gate lines are selected successively, normal 2H1V inversiondrive may be employed. When even-numbered gate lines are selectedsuccessively, 2H1V inversion drive may be employed while shifting ablock of same polarity for one column. A drive IC capable of normal 2H1Vinversion drive is provided with an optional function that can controlthe block of same polarity, so that the normal 2H1V inversion drive canbe utilized easily. It is preferable for the scanning of theodd-numbered gate lines and the even-numbered gate lines to be completedwithin a frame period. That is, not the simple interlace drive but thedouble-speed interlace drive is preferred.

Further, regarding gate line driving circuits for driving the gatelines, the odd-numbered gate lines and the even-numbered gate lines maybe connected to different gate line driving circuits. This makes iteasier to scan the gate lines by every other line.

Furthermore, as the display image input format according to theexemplary embodiment, a format where left and right images are arrangedin the vertical direction or a format where left and right images arearranged in a time-series manner can be employed suitably. As describedabove, when only the odd-numbered gate lines are selected successively,it is possible to write the display data only to the pixels thatdisplays the image for the right eye. Then, by selecting only theeven-numbered gate lines successively, it is possible to write thedisplay data only to the pixels that displays the image for the lefteye. In this manner, the driving method which writes the display dataonly to the pixels for a same viewpoint can be employed suitably for theformat with which image information for the same viewpoint is inputtedconsecutively, so that the driving circuits can be simplified. Effectsof the ninth exemplary embodiment other than those described above arethe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a tenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 24 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the tenth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the tenth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it has neighboring pixel pairs arranged in aline-symmetrical relation.

That is, as shown in FIG. 24, regarding the neighboring pixel pairconfigured with the pixel P22 and P23, the pixel P22 located on the −Ydirection side with respect to the common gate line G2 is connected tothe data line D2 that is located in the −X direction, while the pixelP23 located on the +Y direction side with respect to the gate line G2 isconnected to the data line D3 that is located in the +X direction. Thatis, regarding this neighboring pixel pair, when each of the pixels isarranged vertically by having a common gate line interposedtherebetween, the upper-side pixel is connected to the right-side dataline.

In the meantime, regarding the neighboring pixel pair configured withthe pixel P31 and P32, the pixel P32 located on the −Y direction sidewith respect to the common gate line G3 is connected to the data line D2that is located in the +X direction, while the pixel P31 located on the+Y direction side with respect to the gate line G3 is connected to thedata line D1 that is located in the −X direction. That is, regardingthis neighboring pixel pair, when each of the pixels is arrangedvertically by having a common gate line interposed therebetween, theupper-side pixel is connected to the left-side data line. In FIG. 24,the neighboring pixel pairs whose upper-side pixel is connected to theleft-side data line are circled with dotted lines. Regarding the pixelcolumns neighboring to each other in the +X direction, the neighboringpixel pairs whose upper-side pixel is connected to the left-side dataline are arranged for the gate lines that are neighboring to each otherin the −Y direction. As a result, the same-type neighboring pixel pairsare to be arranged in an oblique direction From another point of view,in this exemplary embodiment, it can be also expressed that theneighboring pixel pairs whose upper-side pixels are connected to theleft-side data line and the neighboring pixel pairs whose upper-sidepixels are connected to the right-side data line are disposed.Furthermore, these two kinds of neighboring pixel pairs are in aline-symmetrical relation with respect to a segment extending in theY-axis direction as well as a segment extending in the X-axis direction.That is, the two kinds of the neighboring pixel pairs are arranged to bein a line-symmetrical relation with respect to the extending directionof the gate lines or to the orthogonal direction thereof.

Regarding the driving method, the tenth exemplary embodiment employs thedot inversion drive as in the case of the first exemplary embodimentdescribed above. As a result, the pixel groups configured with theright-eye pixels 4R are in a polarity distribution with which the 2-linedot inversion (1H2V dot inversion) effect can be achieved. This is thesame for the pixel groups that are configured with the left-eye pixels4L. The base set in the polarity distribution of this exemplaryembodiment has a sixteen pixel in total (four pixels in the X-axisdirection, four pixels in the Y-axis direction) and it is shown in FIG.24 by being surrounded by a broken line. Structures of the tenthexemplary embodiment other than those described above are the same asthose of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

In this exemplary embodiment, by using the normal dot inversion drive,it is possible with the tenth exemplary embodiment to achieve the 2-linedot inversion effect as well as the effect of suppressing thefluctuation of the potentials in each storage capacitance line, and toset the polarities of the pixels having bottom sides of the trapezoidapertures neighboring to each other to be the same, as in the case ofthe ninth exemplary embodiment described above. This makes it possibleto achieve high image quality display at a low cost.

The layout of the two kinds of neighboring pixel pairs is not limited tothe one described in this exemplary embodiment. It is also possible toarrange different kinds of neighboring pixel pairs by everyplural-number row and every plural-number column. Especially, byarranging the different kinds of neighboring pixel pairs, influences ofabnormal alignment of the liquid crystal molecules, etc., can be reducedeven if it happens. This is because it is possible to prevent theabnormal state from generating at same positions of the whole pixels,since the positions of having abnormal alignment or the like differ whenthe pixel structures vary. Especially, the plural viewpoint displaydevice according to the exemplary embodiment of the present inventionenlarges the images by using the image separating device such as a lens,so that this effect is extremely large. Effects of the tenth exemplaryembodiment other than those described above are the same as those of thefirst exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, an eleventh exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 25 is a top plan view showing polarities of each pixelin a display device according to the eleventh exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention. Compared to the tenth exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the eleventh exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs a column inversion drive. Thecolumn inversion drive is a driving method with which display data ofdifferent polarity is transmitted for every data line, and the polarityis not inverted for each gate line.

As shown in FIG. 25, when the gate line G1 is selected,positive-polarity display data is written to the pixels that areconnected to the data lines D1, D3, D5, D7, and negative-polaritydisplay data is written to the pixels that are connected to the datalines D2, D4, D6. This is the same when the gate lines G2-G5 areselected. In a next frame, display data of inverted polarities arewritten to the respective data lines. As a result, the pixel groupsconfigured with the right-eye pixels 4R are in a polarity distributionwith which the 2-line dot inversion (1H2V dot inversion) effect can beachieved. This is the same for the pixels groups that are configuredwith the left-eye pixels 4L Structures of the eleventh exemplaryembodiment other than those described above are the same as those of thetenth exemplary embodiment described above.

It is possible with the eleventh exemplary embodiment to achieve thesame effects as those of the tenth exemplary embodiment described aboveby employing the column inversion drive. The column inversion drive is adriving method which is similar to the dot inversion drive except thatit does not invert the polarity when scanning the gate linessuccessively. That is, a driver IC capable of dot inversion drive cannecessarily execute column inversion drive as well. Further, there is noinversion of the polarity when scanning the gate lines successively, sothat the power can be saved with the column inversion drive compared tothe case of the dot inversion drive. With a typical pixel structure, thepolarity distribution becomes one-dimensional when the column inversiondrive is employed. Thus, the display quality is deteriorated compared tothe case of the dot inversion drive. However, the pixel structure ofthis exemplary embodiment makes it possible to achieve the 2-line dotinversion effect even with the use of the column inversion drive.Therefore, it is possible to achieve both the lower power and high imagequality. Effects of the eleventh exemplary embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as those of the tenth exemplary embodimentdescribed above.

Next, a twelfth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 26 is a top plan view showing a pixel of a displaydevice according to the twelfth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention described above, the twelfth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it employs a structure for reducingcapacitance coupling at a part of the data line or a part of the storagecapacitance line provided in a laminated manner.

As shown in FIG. 26, a gouged hole with no wiring is formed in a part ofthe storage capacitance line CS that is laminated with the data line D.Structures of the twelfth exemplary embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as those of the first exemplary embodimentdescribed above.

It is possible with this exemplary embodiment to decrease electricalcoupling of the data line and the storage capacitance line, so that ahigh image quality can be achieved. The numerical aperture can also beimproved by applying the exemplary embodiment to the oblique wiring partthat largely affects the numerical aperture.

The structure for decreasing the capacitance coupling is not limited tobe in the above-described shape. For example, a large number of holesmay be formed in one of the wirings, or a part of the wirings may begouged out. Further, the above-described structure may be applied not tothe storage capacitance line but to the data line. To employ thestructure, it is desirable to have no gap between the data line and thestorage capacitance line. A gap may cause light leakage, which mayresult in deteriorating the display image quality when the positions ofthe TFT substrate and the counter substrate become shifted. Effects ofthe twelfth exemplary embodiment other than those described above arethe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a thirteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 27 is a top plan view showing a display device accordingto the thirteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of the present inventiondescribed above, the thirteenth exemplary embodiment is distinctive inrespect that the thin film transistor has a double gate structure.

As shown in FIG. 27, the source electrode and the drain electrode of thethin film transistor 4TFT are connected with the gate line G interposedtherebetween. This is common to each thin film transistor of the doublegate structure. Further, the source electrode of a given thin filmtransistor is connected to the drain electrode of another thin filmtransistor. As a result, the double gate structure is in a U-like shapein which the W direction is the same as the extending direction of thegate line. Structures of the thirteenth exemplary embodiment other thanthose described above are the same as those of the first exemplaryembodiment described above.

Especially when low-temperature polysilicon or single crystallinesilicon with high mobility is used for the semiconductor layer of thethin film transistors, this exemplary embodiment can reduce the leakpower when the transistors are off. Thereby, high image quality displaycan be achieved. Further, with the double gate structure, deteriorationof the numerical aperture can be suppressed by making the W direction ofthe transistors consistent with the extending direction of the gatelines and arranging the source electrode and the drain electrode byhaving the gate line interposed therebetween. Therefore, high imagequality display can be achieved. This exemplary embodiment can beapplied also to other multiple-gate structures such as triple gatestructure. Effects of the thirteenth exemplary embodiment other thanthose described above are the same as those of the first exemplaryembodiment described above.

Next, a fourteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 28 is a top plan view showing a display device accordingto the fourteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of the present inventiondescribed above, size and layout of the thin film transistor aredifferent in the fourteenth exemplary embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIG. 28, a silicon thin film part of a thin filmtransistor 41TFT has a larger size in the L direction than in the Wdirection in this exemplary embodiment. That is, the channel length inthe X-axis direction is larger than the channel width in the Y-axisdirection. Further, the thin film transistor 41TFT is disposed on theside closer to the pixel 43 to which it belongs than the common gateline G of the neighboring pixel group to which it belongs. That is,unlike the first exemplary embodiment described above, the drainelectrode and the source electrode of the thin film transistor are notdisposed by having the common gate line interposed therebetween.Structures of the fourteenth exemplary embodiment other than thosedescribed above are the same as those of the first exemplary embodimentdescribed above.

Especially when the thin film transistors having a larger size in the Ldirection than in the W direction are used, this exemplary embodimentarranges the thin film transistor on one side of the common gate line.Thereby, the vertical numerical aperture can be improved. This makes itpossible to provide bright and high image quality display. Effects ofthe fourteenth exemplary embodiment other than those described above arethe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a fifteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 29 is a top plan view showing a pixel of a displaydevice according to the fifteenth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention described above, layout of the storage capacitance lines isdifferent in the fifteenth exemplary embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIG. 29, the storage capacitance line CS is formedalso in the bottom side part of the trapezoid aperture in this exemplaryembodiment. Further, it is electrically connected to the storagecapacitance lines CS formed in the oblique-side parts. Thereby, thepixel electrode 4PIX comes to be surrounded by the storage capacitancelines CS. Structures of the fifteenth exemplary embodiment other thanthose described above are the same as those of the first exemplaryembodiment described above.

This exemplary embodiment uses the storage capacitance lines having aconstant potential to surround the pixel electrode. Thereby, influencesof the electric field fluctuation in the surroundings can be shut off,so that high image quality display can be achieved. Further, a largenumber of storage capacitance lines can be provided all over, so thatthe resistance value can be decreased. Thus, it becomes tolerable tochanges in the potentials. Effects of the fifteenth exemplary embodimentother than those described above are the same as those of the firstexemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a sixteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 30 is a top plan view showing a pixel of a displaydevice according to the sixteenth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention described above, the sixteenth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it is compatible with color display.

That is, as shown in FIG. 30, this exemplary embodiment has colorfilters in a stripe form provided on a display panel The color filtersare of three types including red color filters RED, green color filtersGREEN, and blue color filters BLUE. That is, those are of three primarycolors. The extending direction of each color filter is the X-axisdirection that is the image separating direction of the lens. Thosedifferent-color filters are arranged in the Y-axis direction.

Specifically, a red color filter RED is disposed between the gate lineG1 and the gate line G2, and the pixels P11, P23, P13, P25, P16, and P27work as the pixels that display red. This structure applies for each ofthe other colors. The pixels that are arranged with a specific colorfilter work as the pixels that display the corresponding color.

Then, twelve pixels disposed between the gate lines G1-G7 and betweenthe data lines D1-D3 are repeatedly disposed in the X-axis direction andthe Y-axis direction. Structures of the sixteenth exemplary embodimentother than those described above are the same as those of the firstexemplary embodiment described above.

In this exemplary embodiment, in the color filters arranged in a stripeform, the direction towards which the same color continues is consistentwith the extending direction of the gate lines. With this, a same-colorcolor filter can be provided continuously for the oblique wiring parts.That is, it becomes unnecessary to manufacture complicated shapes suchas trapezoids by using color resist or the like. Thus, the color filterscan be manufactured easily, and the cost can be reduced. Furthermore,there is no junction part in different color layers generated in theoblique wiring parts. Thus, it is possible to provide a high imagequality by suppressing abnormal alignment of the liquid crystalmolecules. Further, since the image separating direction of thelenticular lens is set to be consistent with the direction towards whichthe same color of the color filter continues, it is possible to preventthe color from being separated by the image separating device such asthe lenticular lens. Therefore, a high image quality can be achieved.

In this exemplary embodiment, each color pixel group is not distortedlyarranged as one of the pixels that configure the neighboring groups, butarranged dispersedly for both pixels. For example, there are the pixelP11 and the pixel P52 as the pixels that configure a red pixel group.Out of this red pixel group, the pixel P11 is disposed on the −Ydirection side with respect to the gate line G1 to which the pixel P11is connected, and the pixel P52 is arranged on the +Y direction sidewith respect to the gate line G5 to which the pixel P52 is connected.Through configuring pixel groups of each color by using each of thepixels that configure the neighboring pixel groups, color dispersionscan be suppressed. Thus, a high image quality can be achieved. Effectsof the sixteenth exemplary embodiment other than those described aboveare the same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, a seventeenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention willbe described. FIG. 31 is a top plan view showing a display deviceaccording to the seventeenth exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention described above, the seventeenth exemplary embodiment isdistinctive in respect that it is a multiple-viewpoint stereoscopicimage display device with four viewpoints.

That is, as shown in FIG. 31, cylindrical lenses 31 a configuring alenticular lens 31 are arranged to correspond to pixels of four columns.Then, according to positional relations regarding the cylindrical lens31 a and each pixel column, pixels P11, P32, P31, and P52 are allottedas first viewpoint pixels 4F. Similarly, pixels P23, P22, P43, and P42are allotted as second viewpoint pixels 4S, pixels P13, P34, P33, andP54 are allotted as third viewpoint pixels 4T, and pixels P25, P24, P45,and P44 are allotted as fourth viewpoint pixels 40. Structures of theseventeenth exemplary embodiment other than those described above arethe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

With this exemplary embodiment, the present invention can be alsoapplied to the multiple-viewpoint stereoscopic image display device withan increased number of viewpoints. Thus, a high image quality can beachieved. Further, the probability of enabling stereoscopic view can beincreased by increasing the number of viewpoints. The number ofviewpoints is not limited to the number depicted in the exemplaryembodiment. The present invention can be applied also to display devicesof three viewpoints or more. Further, the number of viewpoints may notnecessarily have to be an integer. The exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention can be applied also to a fraction-number stereoscopicimage display device such as a fractional view type. Effects of theseventeenth exemplary embodiment other than those described above arethe same as those of the first exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, an eighteenth exemplary embodiment of the present invention willbe described. FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a terminal deviceaccording to the sixteenth exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 33 is a topplan view showing a display device according to this exemplaryembodiment.

As shown in FIG. 32 and FIG. 33, a display device 103 according to thisexemplary embodiment is mounted into a portable telephone 91 as theterminal device. Compared to the first exemplary embodiment describedabove, the eighteenth exemplary embodiment is different in respect thatthe longitudinal direction of the cylindrical lenses 3 a configuring thelenticular lens (the Y-axis direction) is the lateral direction of theimage display device (horizontal direction of the image), and thearranging direction of the cylindrical lenses 3 a (X-axis direction) isthe vertical direction (perpendicular direction of the image).

Further, as shown in FIG. 33, a plurality of pixel pairs each configuredwith a single first viewpoint pixel 4F and a single second viewpointpixel 4S are arranged to the display device 103 in matrix. The arrangingdirection of the first viewpoint pixel 4F and the second viewpoint pixel4S in a single pixel pair is the X-axis direction that is the arrangingdirection of the cylindrical lenses 3 a, which is the vertical direction(perpendicular direction) of the screen. Further, structures of each ofthe pixels 4F and 4S are the same as those of the first exemplaryembodiment described above. Structures of the eighteenth exemplaryembodiment other than those described above are the same as those of thefirst exemplary embodiment described above.

Next, operations of the display device according to this exemplaryembodiment will be described. However, the basic operations are the sameas those of the first exemplary embodiment described above, and imagesto be displayed are different. The first viewpoint pixel 4F of thedisplay device 103 shows an image for a first viewpoint, and the secondviewpoint pixel 4S shows an image for a second viewpoint. The image forthe first viewpoint and the image for the second viewpoint are notstereoscopic images having parallax from each other but plane images.Further, both images may be independent images form each other, or maybe images showing information related to each other.

This exemplary embodiment has such an advantage that the observer canselect the first viewpoint image or the second viewpoint image by simplychanging the angle of the portable telephone 91. Particularly when thereis a relevancy between the first viewpoint image and the secondviewpoint image, each image can be observed by simply changing theobserving angle. Therefore, convenience for the observers can be greatlyimproved. When the first viewpoint image and the second viewpoint imageare arranged in the lateral direction, it sometimes happens that theright eye and the left eye observe different images depending on theobserving position. In that case, the observer becomes confused, andbecomes unable to recognize the images at each viewpoint. However, whenthe plural viewpoint images are arranged in the vertical direction as inthis exemplary embodiment, the observer can always observe the imagesfor each viewpoint with both eyes. Therefore, those images can berecognized easily. Effects of the eighteenth exemplary embodiment otherthan those described above are the same as those of the first exemplaryembodiment described above. This exemplary embodiment can also becombined with any of the second to seventeenth exemplary embodimentsdescribed above.

The first to eighteenth exemplary embodiments have been described byreferring to the case where the display device is loaded on the portabletelephone to display stereoscopic images by supplying images withparallax to the left and right eyes of a single observer and to the casewhere the display device supply a plurality of kinds of imagessimultaneously to a single observer. However, the display deviceaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is notlimited to such cases. The exemplary embodiment may be applied to adevice that has a large-scale display panel and supply a plurality ofdifferent images to a plurality of observers. Further, each of theabove-described exemplary embodiments may be employed individually oremployed in combinations as appropriate.

While the present invention has been described above by referring toeach of the exemplary embodiments, the present invention is not limitedto those exemplary embodiments. Various changes and modifications thatoccur to those skilled in the art may be applied to the structures anddetails of the present invention. Further, it is to be understood thatthe present invention includes combinations of a part of or the wholepart of the structures described in each of the exemplary embodiments.

1. A display device, comprising: a plurality of pixel units eachincluding at least pixels for displaying different images toward eachdirection; data lines for supplying display data to each of the pixels;pixel switches for transmitting display data signals from the data linesto the pixels; gate lines for controlling the pixel switches; and anoptical element for distributing light emitted from each of the pixelsconfiguring the pixel units towards different directions, wherein aneighboring pixel pair arranged with the gate line interposedtherebetween is controlled by the gate line that is provided betweenthose pixels, each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pairis connected to the data line different from each other, and each of theneighboring pixel pairs neighboring to each other in an extendingdirection of the gate lines is connected to the gate line different fromeach other.
 2. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, whenarranging each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pairsvertically in top and bottom with a common gate line interposedtherebetween, there are arranged the neighboring pixel pairs each havingan upper-side pixel connected to a left-side data line and theneighboring pixel pairs each having an upper-side pixel connected to aright-side data line.
 3. The display device as claimed in claim 2,wherein two kinds of the neighboring pixel pairs are in aline-symmetrical relation with respect to the extending direction of thegate lines or to a direction orthogonal to the extending direction ofthe gate lines.
 4. The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thepixels configuring the neighboring pixel pairs are arranged to be in adot-symmetrical relation.
 5. The display device as claimed in claim 1,wherein a part of one of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixelpair, through which the pixel is connected to the data line, is placedon a side closer to the other pixel than the gate line.
 6. The displaydevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein a display area of the pixel is ina substantially trapezoid shape.
 7. The display device as claimed inclaim 6, wherein the pixel switch is disposed in an upper-bottom side ofthe trapezoid display area of the pixel.
 8. The display device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a storage capacitance for storing displaydata is provided to the pixel, and a storage capacitance line forconnecting the storage capacitance of each pixel connects the storagecapacitances of the pixels that are neighboring to each other in theextending direction of the gate lines.
 9. The display device as claimedin claim 8, wherein an intersection area between the storage capacitanceline and the data line is arranged along the data line.
 10. The displaydevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein every other gate line is connectedto a gate line driving circuit disposed on both sides of a screen. 11.The display device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical elementdistributes the light emitted from each pixel along the extendingdirection of the gate lines.
 12. A display device driving method fordriving the display device claimed in claim 1, which inverts voltagepolarities of each of the pixels by every two gate lines.
 13. A displaydevice driving method for driving the display device claimed in claim 1,which scans the gate lines by every other line.
 14. The display devicedriving method for driving the display device as claimed claim 13, whichinverts polarity of each transmitted display data for every odd-numberedgate line and by every two data lines, and inverts polarity of eachtransmitted display data for every even-numbered gate line and by everytwo data lines, wherein the polarities of the display data transmittedto the data lines become shifted for one data line between a state wherethe odd-numbered gate line is selected and a state where theeven-numbered gate line is selected.
 15. The display device drivingmethod for driving the display device claimed in claim 2, which invertsthe voltage polarity of each pixel for every gate line, and inverts thepolarity of each of the transmitted display data for every data line.16. The display device driving method for driving the display deviceclaimed in claim 2, which does not invert the voltage polarity of eachpixel for every gate line, but inverts the polarity of each of thetransmitted display data for every data line.
 17. A terminal device,comprising the display device claimed in claim
 1. 18. The terminaldevice as claimed in claim 17, which is a portable telephone, a personalinformation terminal, a personal television set, a game machine, adigital camera, a video camera, a video player, a notebook-type personalcomputer, a cash dispenser, or a vending machine.
 19. A display panel,comprising: data lines for supplying display data to respective pixels;pixel switches for transmitting display data signals from the data linesto the pixels; gate lines for controlling the pixel switches, wherein aneighboring pixel pair arranged with the gate line interposedtherebetween is controlled by the gate line that is provided betweenthose pixels, each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pairis connected to the data line different from each other, and each of theneighboring pixel pairs neighboring to each other in an extendingdirection of the gate lines is connected to the gate line different fromeach other.
 20. The display panel as claimed in claim 19, wherein, whenarranging each of the pixels configuring the neighboring pixel pairvertically in top and bottom with a common gate line interposedtherebetween, there are arranged the neighboring pixel pairs each havingan upper-side pixel connected to a left-side data line and theneighboring pixel pairs each having an upper-side pixel connected to aright-side data line.